A redesign increases clicks on Apply but reduces completed applications. How would you evaluate it?

Treat completed suitable applications as the more relevant outcome if that matches the product goal, and examine the full funnel rather than optimizing one button. Check tracking changes, traffic mix, form errors, load time, mobile behavior, accessibility, and expectations set before the click. Use qualitative observation to understand abandonment and a suitable experiment to assess causal impact. Segment carefully and consider whether quality also changed. More clicks can indicate curiosity or confusion rather than better usability, so recommend changes based on task success and evidence.